Kyle Larson compares comfort of IndyCar cockpit to NASCAR

While it isn’t May yet, it might as well be for IndyCar fans. Kyle Larson got back into the cockpit for the first time in 2025 this week. A couple of weeks ago, the NASCAR champion talked about how it feels to be in the open-wheel car versus his usual stock car.

When it comes to an IndyCar and a NASCAR Cup car, you might as well compare a motorcycle to a tank. At least, that’s how it looks from the outside looking in.

A couple of weeks ago, Kyle Larson and Tony Kanaan went on the Dale Jr. Download to talk Indy 500 and more Memorial Day Double info. Among the topics, the comfort of an IndyCar.

“I mean, obviously, the cockpit’s way narrower [than a Cup car],” Larson explained to Dale Jr. “Yeah, you’re sitting in there, I didn’t really feel like you’re laying down as much as I thought you would feel, but your legs and that are together. Not that that’s uncomfortable or anything, it’s just different. Somebody’s buckling you in because you can’t really like, you can’t move your arms, and stuff like you need to. So, somebody’s buckling you in every time.”

Kyle Larson talked about that lack of movement. Legs together, arms at the sides, and just enough room to steer the car. He can barely even tighten his own belts.

“All I can really get to is barely tightening my shoulder belts,” Larson continued. “I can’t like, hardly, I can’t get my elbow out to, like even to unbuckle it’s kind of tough. Just the angle that your arm’s at. Temperature-wise, I think it was pretty favorable temperatures last year; it wasn’t ever too hot. So, that wasn’t a big deal. The helmet, it’s not really a fan, right? It’s just a hose that goes to like an air duct. That actually worked really well.”

Kyle Larson wrecks for first time in IndyCar

On Thursday, Kyle Larson had a first – it was his first time wrecking in an IndyCar. Imagine that. He went through all of his rookie year testing, practices, qualifying, and the race – no wrecks. No he gets the first one of his career out of the way before May even begins.

In a surprising response, Larson was kind of glad to wreck. You could say that he found the limit of the IndyCar for the first time. That could be bad news for those he is racing against this May. Don’t forget he qualified P6 his first time ever qualifying for the 500.

“Hopefully, this is the only time I’ll crash an IndyCar. But I was kinda tight yesterday, and I think it just carried over to today, and going faster just magnified it all,” Larson told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “So, as soon as I turned into 1, I was like, ‘Man, I am in trouble here.’ It just had a ton of understeer. Yeah, just ran out of room and got into the wall. So, yeah, a bummer, but at the same point, I’m happy to get it out of the way, hopefully, here in the Indy 500 stuff, and we can try to work on our balance quite a bit now.”

Now that Kyle Larson knows the limits, will we see him be more bold? It would be thrilling to see him chasing the leaders with a few laps to go this Memorial Day. There is a lot between now and then, though.